Bus Smashed Pregnant Mother & 9 Months Child In Suri

Suri: A set of people a state transport department bus on fire and ransacked three other buses after a 32-year-old pregnant homemaker and her nine-month-old daughter were crushed to death by one of the buses in Birbhum’s Suri on Saturday morning.

Police sources said Firoz Sheikh, a vegetable trader from Kamalpur village of Suri, was returning home on his motorcycle, along with his wife Serina Biwi and infant daughter Firoza Khatun, after a check-up by a physician. Family members confirmed that Biwi was pregnant.

- Advertisement -

The police sources said at around 10.30am, Sheikh lost control of the bike while trying to save a stray dog, when a bus of the South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC), coming at a high speed towards Suri from Rampurhat, crushed the mother and daughter near Arabinda Pally. Sheikh, also injured critically, escaped being crushed by the bus as he was flung several feet on impact. While Serina and Firoza died at the spot, Sheikh was admitted in a critical state at the Suri District Hospital.

After the incident, local traders ransacked the bus and police stopped them from setting it on fire. But the situation soon spun out of control as over 200 villagers came from Kamalpur, which is 3km from the site of the accident.

The mob first blocked NH60 near Suri Polytechnic College. Then, when another SBSTC bus coming from Malda pulled over because of the blockade, the mob ransacked it before setting it ablaze. Soon after, a third SBSTC bus, which stopped because of the roadblock, was also ransacked.